What is: WAMP

WAMP is an acronym that stands for “Windows, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.” It’s based on the earlier acronym LAMP which stands for “Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.” As you might guess, LAMP refers to servers running the Linux operating system while WAMP refers to servers running the Windows operating system.

Together, these four elements are known as a software “stack” because they work together but each layer in the “stack” has a different job to perform.

Very few true server machines run Windows as their primary operating system, so WAMP is primarily for people who want to install WordPress on their personal computers at home.

Apache is the world’s most popular software for web servers. When someone first visits your WordPress website, it is Apache that delivers (or “serves”) the information that the user sees on their screen.

MySQL is one of the world’s most popular database systems. The role of MySQL in your stack is to store and organize all of the content on your website, including user profiles, comments, posts, pages, and media files.

PHP is a programming language and the one in which WordPress is written. All the communication between the layers of the stack is done using the PHP programming language.

WAMP is primarily used by developers, so make sure you are confident you know what you’re doing before installing it. WAMP can be downloaded here and installed with the click of a single button on computers running the Windows operating system.

Keep in mind that a WordPress site installed using WAMP is only accessible to you (or someone using your personal computer). If you want it to be connected to the internet, you’ll need to have both a domain and a web host.